Malcomb Gladwell – The Myth of Prodigy January 5, 2007

Learning to do something early relative to everyone else is different than doing something innovative or unique. Malcomb Gladwell points out that child prodigies are gifted learners, but successful adults are gifted doers. From Gladwell’s talk at the APS Conference:

…the story of two buildings. One is built ahead of schedule, and one is being built in New York City and comes in two years late and several million dollars over budget. Does anyone really care, 10 years down the road, which building was built early and which building was built late? …

But somehow I think when it comes to children we feel the other way, that we get obsessed with schedules, and not with buildings. I think that’s a shame. … If you want to know whether a 13-year-old runner will be a good runner when they’re 23, you should wait until they’re 23.